Cleveland Cavaliers Team Report – January 17

=== Cleveland Cavaliers Team Report – January 17 ===

(Sports Network) – Cleveland has split its last four games, including a
105-97 defeat to the Seattle SuperSonics on Sunday night at Seattle.

LeBron James had a huge game in a losing cause for the Cavaliers, who fell to
1-2 on their current season-high, six-game road swing. James registered 35
points, five rebounds, five steals and 11 assists. Drew Gooden aided the
Cavaliers’ cause with 27 points.

James has easily been the centerpiece of Cleveland’s team this season,
tallying 24.9 points, 7.4 assists and seven rebounds per contest. Meanwhile,
Gooden is registering 13.8 points and 9.6 rebounds per game. Zydrunas
Ilgauskas has been no pushover with 16.1 points and 7.6 boards per contest.

The Cavaliers led the game 72-63 with 3:35 left in the third quarter, but a
23-7 Seattle run spanning the third and fourth quarters put the Sonics ahead
86-79 with 8:01 remaining.

Later in the fourth, two free throws by Gooden cut the Cavaliers’ deficit to
90-86 with 3:13 left in the game. A Vladimir Radmanovic bucket then restored
Seattle’s six-point edge.

After the teams traded baskets, James nailed a three-pointer to pull Cleveland
within three, at 94-91, with 1:33 left. Just 10 seconds later, though, Ray
Allen answered with a three-ball of his own to push Seattle’s lead back to
six, and the Cavaliers would get no closer than four points the rest of the
way.

Cleveland, which is 22-14 on the season, has slipped into a tie with Detroit
atop the Central Division.

The Cavaliers have the next two days off to prepare for the tail end of their
six-game road trip, including contests against Portland, Sacramento and Golden
State. For the year, Cleveland is 8-11 in foreign buildings.